Lou Diamond Phillips Gutted By Prodigal Son’s Cancellation

The season of TV renewals and cancellations is officially upon us, and a number of fan-favorite programs have unfortunately become casualties along the way. One of the most recent among them is Prodigal Son, with the buzzworthy FOX drama being canceled after two seasons. The news has left fans of the series heartbroken — and, apparently, some of the cast members as well. Lou Diamond Phillips, who portrays Gil Arroyo on the series, recently took to Twitter to reveal that he’s “gutted” by the cancellation and that he “didn’t see that one coming.”

Reports have indicated that FOX saw the decision of canceling Prodigal Son to be an “incredibly difficult” one, but that the series’ small ratings did not justify renewing the series for a third season. Even before the news was announced, fans had already begun to launch petitions asking for the series to earn more episodes.

The Walking Dead alum Tom Payne lead the cast of Prodigal Son, starring as FBI Profiler Malcolm Bright, with Golden Globe winner Michael Sheen playing his father, an imprisoned serial killer. Season Two picks up with Bright’s personal life in disarray after his sister Ainsley’s (Halston Sage) shocking actions in the Season One finale. Now, he must “take care” of her and protect his mother Jessica (Bellamy Young) from a secret that could tear the family apart all over again. Meanwhile, Martin proves himself valuable in treating patients, after being assigned to infirmary duty by Claremont Psychiatric’s resident MD, Dr. Vivian Capshaw (Catherine Zeta-Jones, “Chicago,” “Ocean’s 12,” “Traffic,” “Feud”), and seeks to deepen his relationship with Bright, his prodigal son, but forging this bond leads to shocking twists and revelations.

“I think we’ve gotten better in our second season,” Payne explained in an interview with The AV Club earlier this year. “It probably has to do with the fact that the first season had more episodes than planned. We were originally picked up for 13, but we were shooting for episode six or seven when we nine more episodes were ordered. Even at the time, I thought that was maybe a few extra episodes but we did well, regardless. With this season, and especially because of COVID-19, we had more time to prepare beforehand and we know it’s only 13 episodes, so it feels like a tighter season. Everyone knows their characters and the relationships very well, so that helps.”

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